I like the look of the awkward stage silkies, clover run! I would love to get Brabanters or some kind of crested breed, but I don't want to deal with other birds pecking at them.
Lazy gardener, I'm not opposed to a group order, but it would be somewhat difficult to coordinate. The delivery location is not a big deal to me, as I will likely drive an hour and a half to pick up birds at Longhorn's. I can combine pick up with a trip to Trader Joe's, Micucci's, and the oriental market, so it doesn't seem like a waste of driving.
I'm going to call local stores here too, but I don't think they get birds until spring arrives. Longhorn's first pick up is March 22, provided I order in the next few weeks. My hatch birds will be 3 weeks old by then, and I've combined those age groups before without much issue.
McMurray has rosecomb brown leghorns, which would be nice, but I only want about 5 birds. Longhorn orders from Cackle. I'm tempted to try a Welsummer or two, but I don't know about the quality. My Welsummers from Meyer Hatchery were nice. The surprise egg assortment I ordered will likely not include Welsummers, as she said they were not laying right now.
My other option was to get Exchequer leghorn hatching eggs, but I hate the idea of all those leghorn roosters. How meaty can they be? Seems like they would not be worth growing out.